ScreenCraft Film Fund |
Spring 2023
Offering up to $30,000 in funding for a range of projects from treatments to standalone screenplays to fully-packaged projects seeking finishing funds.
Placement
Genre
Format
Representation Status
Finalists
Finalist
Web Series
· Comedy
· 21 Pages
A bitesize comedy anthology series shining a light on "middleness" in the industry. An actor, a runner, a writer and a costume assistant all experience discrimination in the workplace before they all meet...and discriminate against each other in an ironic, explosive final episode.
London, GB
Olivia is a Mixed British South Asian writer & National Television Award nominated actor.
She's created several projects, including the award-winning "A Normal Night", the BIFA-qualifying 5-star reviewed "Beige", and the award-winning web series "Naughties". Most recently, her script Scallywags" won the Phoebe Frances Brown Film Fund, and the film ...
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Finalist
Feature
· Drama
· 91 Pages
Set in 1980's Brownsville, Brooklyn, NY--A spunky, hip-hop loving Puerto Rican girl gains resilience as she grows up in the face of the heartbreaking realities of the musician father she once idolized and the crime-ridden neighborhood she calls home.
- Verified WGA Member
Miami Beach, Florida
Elaine is a native New Yorker and multi- hyphenate Storyteller.
Her awards include the HBO Latinx Director award, the Latino Film Institute works-in-progress feature grant, NY Women in Media Post production grant and from festivals including SXSW, Urbanworld, Catalyst Stories, Seriesfest and more. Elaine is a graduate of the WGA Showrunner Academy,...
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Finalist
Feature Documentary
· Other
· 17 Pages
Calamity and Mercy details the stories of individual Ukrainian refugees submerged in the chaos of war, fleeing, and integrating into new cultures, along with the NGOs and civilian efforts to help them.
No bio available.
Finalist
Short
· Drama
· 16 Pages
An Indonesian boy and his mom pretend Chinese takeout is a traditional family dish at a potluck in order to impress a white church community.
Brooklyn, NY
Nick Hartanto is an Indonesian-American filmmaker based in New York. His short film “The Dishwasher,” which he co-wrote/directed, was awarded a Special Jury Mention at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and later acquired by HBO Max. He is currently developing his next film “Daly City,” which explores subject matter that recurs frequently within his wo...
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DROPPING
Private
Finalist
Short
· Thriller
· 12 Pages
Thrust right into her Dropping, we follow Nora as she orients around this ritual for which her stepbrother Bram and his friends have done immense training. Her desire is solely based on wanting to fit in, having just moved here after her mother's death. Upon calling her estranged father to express concerns, he assures her everything will be fine, bu...
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- Verified WGA Member
Los Angeles, CA
Anna has been an unstoppable force since she hit the scene, winning the ScreenCraft Fellowship and landing her spec WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES on both the Black List and Hit List. She was hired to write DOROTHY AND ALICE for Netflix and as well as a A TIME LOST for Millie Bobby Brown. She is now writing her third Netflix feature, as well as movies for o...
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Finalist
Feature Documentary
· Comedy
· 93 Pages
How do you solve a problem like Andy Dick? Is it possible to appreciate his genius talent even though he has past trauma, current run ins with the law, and a mental health issue related to a brain bleed inflicted upon him from an assault?
I filmed a love story about Andy without him knowing, and filmed his reactions to
while he watched the do...
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Los Angeles, California
As an optimistic first time film maker, I chronicled the genius of Andy Dick. What could possibly go wrong? Ben Stiller, Kathy Griffin, Moby, Jim Jefferies, Sherri Shepherd, SteveO fill you in. With accolades from the Montreal, TBS, Harlem, LA Comedy, Spain, Venezuela, Edinburgh, Berlin Too Drunk To Watch, Prison City and Filmchella film festival...
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Finalist
Feature Documentary
· Drama
· 26 Pages
“Flamingo Camp” is a a documentary feature that chronicles a queer nomadic community on the fringes of society whose idyllic dream of a safe space is shattered when one of their members is brutally murdered.
Los Angeles, California
Chris Coats is a queer writer and director. His music videos have been featured on acclaimed music websites such as Pitchfork and Filter. He's done branded content for brands like Nike, Tide, and Jack in the Box, and his short films, "Good Boy" (2016) and "Content" (2019) had successful festival runs and were both purchased by streaming platforms.
Framing Her
Private
Finalist
Feature Documentary
· Other
· 16 Pages
Propelled by the darkness of her past, Coco embarks on an epic 3 year road trip in search of guiding stars. Can the bold, rebellious women she meets along the way help her find peace, inspiration, and the courage to forge her own path through life?
Coco Wouters
No bio available.
Finalist
Short
· Horror
· 11 Pages
Cartagena, 1633. A young slave accused of witchcraft, comes face to face with evil incarnate and a faustian bargain for her freedom, while imprisoned in the bowels of the Palace of the Inquisition.
New York, NY
NAACP Image Awards nominated film director and writer based in NYC. Her work has appeared in media outlets such as Billboard and Huffpost, as well as a number of festivals worldwide such as Tribeca, where her latest film Gets Good Light was nominated for best short.
She loves a badass female character, dramatic stakes and tense audiences; also par...
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Here I Am
Private
Finalist
Feature Documentary
· Other
· 30 Pages
This film tells the story of the New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) who falls in love with her terminally-ill best friend, Rayya Elias. Filmed over a year in New York and Detroit, it’s a tale of love, grief and the healing power of creativity.
Brighton, East Sussex, GB
Marc J. Francis, a distinguished storyteller with a two-decade career, is renowned for directing and producing internationally acclaimed documentaries, distributed in cinemas, on television, and streaming platforms. His recent film “Walk With Me,” narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, premiered at SXSW Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival, ev...
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Finalist
Short
· Drama
· 24 Pages
Faced with deportation after their visas expire two Russian students in Canada must grapple with their conservative upbringings and feelings for each other as they try to find a way to stay.
Toronto, On, CA
Alexander is a Slamdance-winning and blacklist-recommended writer/director, whose work uses symbolically rich, elevated genre conceits across horror and sci-fi to explore contemporary issues like family trauma, toxic masculinity, and self-identity. His first short 10-33 (Alter) premiered at Fantasia and won Best Short at TerrorMolins. His next shor...
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Finalist
Feature Documentary
· Drama
· 10 Pages
The story of an unsung hero of Napa Valley who while in pursuit of the impossible dream of making the best bottle of wine in the world, saved the valley and changed the industry after illegally smuggling over 6,000 French wine vines into the US in 1982.
Los Angeles, CA
Coming from a nothing town south of Boston, Charles has taken advantage of his time in LA by winning and placing in competitions like the Page International Screenwriting Awards and ScreenCraft competitions. He strives to tell stories that no matter how dark, have a note of hope, and an element of fun - because isn't that why we go to the movies?
Last Autumn
Private
Finalist
Feature
· Drama
· 105 Pages
In the final months of 1999, while his wife is away in hospital with an undiagnosed illness, Graham is left to care for their two young sons by himself. As uncertainty looms and the world shifts around them, Graham's eldest boy, Beau, will come to see his hero in a whole new light.
Sam Holst
No bio available.
Last Hawaiian Sugar
Private
Finalist
Feature
· Drama
· 99 Pages
Set in the paradise lost of what Hawaii has become, a troubled social worker removes his young patient from her abusive home only to place her in a shelter where she’s sexually assaulted again. When she escapes, he must violate the ethical codes of his profession in order to find her.
Deja Bernhardt
No bio available.
Finalist
Feature
· Drama
· 98 Pages
After years away, Jess returns to her small hometown the week of Thanksgiving after hearing of her older brother's suicide attempt.
New York, New York
Devin Peluso is a filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. As a writer, director, and producer, Devin has made a number of short films that have screened at festivals across the country, including THE OLD MAN starring Steve Coulter. He is currently in development on several feature films including Screencraft Film Fund Finalist MATTHEW and Academy Nic...
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On the Brink - Miscalculation: Kennedy and Khrushchev
Private
Finalist
Feature Documentary
· Historical
· 6 Pages
In a time of nuclear peril, two world leaders – John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev – walk the razor’s edge of life-and-death diplomacy, setting aside domestic political pressures and miscalculations to transform history.
Darin Nellis
No bio available.
SUBJECT
Private
Finalist
Feature
· Horror
· 90 Pages
Compiling suppressed footage, Subject follows a man on his way to prison when he gets intercepted by a secretive government agency to have him serve his sentence by observing a terrifying creature in a close quartered, isolated facility.
Brisbane, Qld, AU
Tristan was the first writer/director down under to shoot a full-length feature in one single take ‘Watch the Sunset’, (Cinema Aus “Top five films of the year”). As well as producing films ‘Reklaw’, ‘Suspense’, 'Subject' that played at SXSW, Fantasia, Cannes film festivals respectively. His latest project stars Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) and will be...
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Finalist
Short
· Drama
· 28 Pages
In this thriller drama pilot, a man, previously convicted of drug possession, manslaughter, and a hit-and-run, confronts a heartless world upon his early release from prison where disownment, stalkers, and conspiracy lie in wait.
North Hollywood, CA
Mentored by multi-Emmy-winner Greg Yaitanes (House of the Dragon) and former ASC President, Michael Goi, Hammen comes armed with a strong network! She writes & directs elevated pulp. She's a former EA turned Co-Producer for Golden Globe winner Scott Steindorff. In addition to her project The Bad Guy, Hammen is also Associate Producing a short titled...
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The Baristas vs the Billionaires
Private
Finalist
Feature Documentary
· Other
· 90 Pages
Starbucks baristas in Buffalo unite against corporate exploitation during the pandemic, sparking a generational uprising among working-class Millennials and Gen Z as they challenge a powerful billionaire CEO and fight for their rights.
Academy Award nominated, Building Bombs, Blood Ties the Life and Work of Sally Mann; Emmy Award, Kent State, The Day the War Came Home; festival award, Bettie Page Reveals All; plus The Fire This Time, Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominee; produced, directed & written for Fox TV, HBO, Showtime, BBC, PBS, Frontline, Turner Classic Movies, MTV, Discover...
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The Collins Film
Private
Finalist
Feature
· Thriller
· 123 Pages
Three high schoolers have their worlds flipped when they come across a film depicting the JFK assassination and its killer, who happens to be one of their fathers.
Grand Rapids, Michigan
I am an award-winning director behind short films like Something Blue, The 46th Annual Easton High Spelling Bee, and Wake Up! I have a unique and independent voice in film and love making movies that make people think, while loving every minute of the ride. I specialize in utilizing every available resource, physical and digital, to make a couple th...
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ᏓᏗᏬᏂᏏ (We Will Speak)
Private
Finalist
Feature Documentary
· Other
· 15 Pages
With fewer than 2,000 fluent speakers left, this feature documentary follows a small group of Cherokee activists as they race to save their language from extinction.
Schon Duncan
No bio available.
Semifinalists
Semifinalist
Feature
· Horror
· 88 Pages
A haunting reveals the immigrant horror story of a Chinese fast food delivery driver.
Inspired by her immigrant parents, she pursued her education with great efforts to become a Gates Millennium Scholar, Tisch Dean’s Scholar, and Dean’s Scholar.
Amy's most recent narrative short Take Care Zora was made in partnership with Ghetto Film School and Dolby and premiered at AMC Lincoln Center & The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
...
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A Reflection
Private
Semifinalist
In Production Film
· Drama
· 15 Pages
A young woman is brought back to her childhood home with three things to reckon with: the imminent death of her father, her estranged mother and the giant dragon following her around.
No bio available.
Semifinalist
Short
· Drama
· 13 Pages
In the dead of winter, Diane Fox works herself to exhaustion in hopes that in her dreams she will find her missing daughter.
Jersey City, NJ
As a writer, Meseret likes to draw from personal experience and showcase it in stories we haven't seen before. As a child of Eritrean refugees who landed in North Dakota, he was inspired to follow his love of storytelling at NYU where he studied screenwriting. Since graduating he has continued to chase opportunities that allow him to share his passi...
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Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 86 Pages
Two years after her mother's suicide, an 18-year-old girl named Joey struggles to reconcile with her grief and anger during her last week of high school.
I grew up in the small rural farming town of Enfield, NY with my mom and sister.
My passion for story is driven by its empathetic power to transcend and transform perceptions. Even if only for the duration of a book or a movie, a well-written story has the potential to somewhat transcend divisions by reminding us of our shared humanity. For a mome...
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American Retail
Private
Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 117 Pages
Raven, a disillusioned sales associate for a goliath retail chain, will have to face more than unruly customers after the attempted suicide of her sister prompts an investigation into the owner’s shady dealings. Welcome to Entropy.
New York, NY
Carlotta Summers is a multiple award winning, BIPOC biracial actress, writer and filmmaker. She's most recently the recipient of the Slamdance Mentorship Award out of 4,200 submissions for her pilot series, THE WANDERER, and was featured in Variety. Her first short film, BUTTERFLIES, screened at the HollyShorts film festival and can currently be see...
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Semifinalist
Feature
· Horror
· 106 Pages
In war with the gods, five friends fight for their souls in the cursed Labyrinth against the evil guardians, Ariad and demigod Minotaur, in search of King Minos' Lost Treasure.
Sydney, Nsw, AU
Semra is a high concept writer developing Horror, Fantasy, SciFi, Action, Adventure and RomCom Feature Films such as ARIAD, Insight, Shadow Hunted: Dawn of the Shadow Uprising and Dragon Hunter: The Forbidden City. She has worked with award winning Directors, Producers and VFX Supervisors who have worked on films such as Mad Max: Fury Road and Morta...
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Aunty Untitled Film
Private
Semifinalist
Short
· Drama
· 1 Pages
Aunty Untitled Film is a coming of golden-age story following a group of amateur dancers, 18 female Chinese immigrants with an average age of 68 years old, trying to get a shot at the mainstream stage AMERICA'S GOT TALENT, eventually finding themselves through dancing.
Aunty Untitled Film
No bio available.
Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 116 Pages
After four years apart, two lovers reunite and confront their tragic, addiction-riddled past.
Elijah Noble El is a SAG-e actor, director, screenwriter, and poet who hails from the snowy midwest. His romance drama Baby's Breath was a semifinalist at the 2023 ScreenCraft Film Fund and a quarterfinalist at the 2023 Golden Script Competition and the 2025 Los Angeles Screenplay Awards. His romance short Goodnight and Goodbye, which played at the ...
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BaeWatch ATL
Private
Semifinalist
TV Script
· Other
· 150 Pages
Baewatch is a group of cunning, beautiful women who operate as militant Spies to secretly watch and engage your "Bae". Girlfriends can call a secret hotline to Baewatch to initiate a "mission" on their significant others; ranging from Surveillance, Intervention, or Code Red...Revenge!
Roger Alexander
No bio available.
Beneath the Grass
Private
Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 95 Pages
Leo, a daydreaming 9 year old boy, puts his single mother’s illegal marijuana business and their relationship at risk when he befriends the new neighbor downstairs and his police officer father.
No bio available.
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Born A Stray
Private
Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 104 Pages
“BORN A STRAY” is a supernatural coming-of-age thriller that follows Agrimas Cuevas, a recently orphaned sixteen-year-old foster child, who goes on a quest to find his real parents and uncovers a dark secret: he’s half-human and half-vampire.
Bronx, NY
Adel L. Morales began his studies at the NYU Grad School Film Program in the Fall of 2012. Bronx born and bred, Adel received his B.A. in English Literature from Pace University and his M.A. in English from Lehman College/CUNY. During his six years at NYU, Adel produced two features, of which he wrote and directed one. He, also, produced twenty shor...
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Caiman
Private
Semifinalist
Feature
· Thriller
· 83 Pages
A young widower and his best friend who is a videographer, document his
return to Vieques Island to hunt the thing he claims killed his fiancé.
Chicago, IL
Charles Borg is an award-winning writer/producer. He is a script consultant and analyst, having worked with professionals from Pixar to LucasFilms. He co-produced two season of the reality documentary-series Knockout for Fuse +NuvoTv (aired on Hulu). In the independent feature film realm, Charles has produced four films: Three Worlds (2018, AppleTV,...
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Semifinalist
Short
· Thriller
· 10 Pages
A little girl's carefree nature leads to her parents' worst nightmare when she disappears in the wake of a local teen's abduction.
Toronto, ON, CA
Lisa is currently pivoting from journalism to screenwriting. After landing bylines in NPR, Marie Claire, Toronto Star and more, she is now focused on turning her words into films and television shows.
She is currently being mentored by Melanie Fletcher of Done+Dusted, and Amy Cameron of Cameron Pictures. She likes to write scripts about class issu...
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Semifinalist
Short
· Drama
· 18 Pages
A young LGBTQ immigrant, Manuel, who struggles to reunite with his teenage daughter and faces the unstable behavior of his partner Luis.
Salinas, CA
Jesse Gasca Garcia was born in Salinas, California. He studied film at the University of Cal State Monterey Bay. Garcia traveled to Mexico to direct the short documentary ‘Curanderismo.’ He returned to direct the short drama ‘Abet.’ Garcia, reappeared to direct the short drama ‘Gloom.’ The short drama won the Honorable Mention Award at the Indepen...
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Semifinalist
Short
· Comedy
· 17 Pages
You can't aways be funny!
Los Angeles, CA
Eythan Maidhof is a Non-Binary cinematographer who works in narrative film, documentary, and fashion film. They began their career as a colorist and editor for the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather.
Eythan just graduated from the renowned American Film Institute in 2021 where they honed their art and craft as a cinematographer.
CLINIC
Private
Semifinalist
Feature
· Thriller
· 74 Pages
A young mother decides to get a Brazilian Butt Lift against professional opinion.
Aleshia Jackson
No bio available.
Semifinalist
Feature
· Horror
· 105 Pages
A young mother and a dying mechanic’s lives collide one New England summer after a botched robbery leads to the disappearance of a local man who claims to have seen a folkloric creature known as the Pukwudgie. It all happens in the Bridgewater Triangle, an area prone to supernatural and unexplained phenomena.
Los Angeles, CA
I'm a filmmaker from New England. I really like movies, coffee, and going for walks.
Semifinalist
Feature Documentary
· Other
· 16 Pages
An award-winning Japanese youth taiko troop, led by a drumming phenom, must flee their mountain village near the failed Fukushima nuclear power plant after the 2011 earthquake and struggle to stay together in order to their community’s memory alive.
- Verified WGA Member
Saitama-shi, Saitama-ken, JP
Hailing from Baltimore, Darryl has been immersed in Japanese culture for almost two decades. He has a BA in History and MFA in Film. He is the second African-American to make a feature in Japan with his film STAY, now on Amazon. His script YASUKE, about an African man who becomes a samurai, was given a shout out from the Blacklist, and Darryl was a ...
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Exchange Place
Private
Semifinalist
Short Documentary
· Other
· 18 Pages
In 1965 the secretarial offices of New Orleans and the Deep South were completely off-limits to women of color and many were fighting to keep it that way. Exchange Place is the story of a school known as the Adult Education Center whose mission was to teach mostly African American women the technical and holistic skills they needed to integrate the ...
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No bio available.
Semifinalist
Feature
· Thriller
· 120 Pages
Grand Cayman, 1968: Nine subsistence fishermen sign onto a voyage to harvest sea turtles off the Central American coast. In their struggles with an abusive captain, overfished waters and their own fears of turtling's spiritual consequences, all fail to notice that something is hunting them.
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Jack Evans is an anthropologically trained journalist and screenwriter from Knoxville, Tennessee. His fascination with mythologies, literature and wildernesses have led him from academic studies at the Universities of Edinburgh and Cape Town to safari guiding work across Tanzania and Zambia. He has pursued his writing craft at a professional level f...
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Fight
Private
Semifinalist
Short
· Drama
· 14 Pages
Behind a high school, a young man must decide whether to fight a class bully or heed a friend who desperately wants him to leave.
Julien Hawthorne
No bio available.
Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 105 Pages
In a small-minded Southern town, CASS, 13, prepares to sign a ‘purity pledge’ for her Evangelical church, vowing to remain a virgin until marriage. But on the eve of the ceremony, Cass experiences her first orgasm and a sexual awakening erupts pitting natural hormonal desire against the threat of eternal damnation.
Los Angeles, CA
Lisa Cole's work as an artivist is shaped by living with 201 host families across 12 countries. Her 2024 Oscar-Shortlisted short film "Bienvenidos a Los Angeles" won the Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase and streams on Kanopy worldwide.
Lisa specializes in adapting true stories exploring gender, neglect, and redemption. Current projects in...
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FIRST GENS
Private
Semifinalist
Feature
· Comedy
· 114 Pages
Frustrated with their strict cultures, Mariam (Lebanese), Naya (Indian), and Cho (Korean) decide to sneak out to an all-American house party and get the real high school experience they deserve – and soon realize they have no idea what they’re doing, or where they fit in.
No bio available.
Golden Hour
Private
Semifinalist
Short
· Sci-fi
· 5 Pages
A mother's reunion with her young daughter comes at a price she cannot afford.
Cincinnati, OH
Maureen McEly writes character driven sci-fi and drama features. She's a two time Nicholl Fellowship semifinalist and an alum of the RespectAbility Virtual Lab for disabled creatives. In 2024, she completed her first short film as a director, and has since screened at respected genre fests like FilmQuest and Nightmares Film Festival. Her sci-fi/dram...
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Semifinalist
Short
· Comedy
· 35 Pages
A group of Latinx teenagers work together to prevent their closed school from being sold to high-end real estate developers by pretending the building is haunted.
Chicago, IL
Caroline Rodriguez is a Latinx writer and director, born and raised in Chicago. Although she has written in a variety of genres, her work prioritizes the stories of Latinx communities and addresses timely social issues, whether through humor or suspense. Her most recent short film, "Chismosas," is currently in festivals.
HE IS A GEISHA
Private
Semifinalist
Feature Documentary
· Drama
· 10 Pages
Japan's only and last "male geisha" struggles to maintain his family business when COVID hits and goes to Los Angeles to seek a way to survive the Geisha culture outside of Japan.
No bio available.
I Am Kathy
Private
Semifinalist
Feature Documentary
· Drama
· 2 Pages
Spending her life suffocated by gender dysphoria, Kathy petitions her health care provider for vocal and facial feminization surgery. A life-long dream shattered, when during Kathy's second surgery she contracts a life-altering infection. Resilient and determined, I Am Kathy is a tragedy and triumph while embracing one's life fearlessly and unapolo...
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Revere, Pa
Jane Therese is a 2023 Stowe Story Labs Fellow, 2023 PAGE Fellowship Finalist, and 2020 AMPAS Nicholl Fellow. Jane traveled to Haiti documenting the effects of the Aristide coup, worked with Indigenous people and shepherded the project, Breaking the Silence of Autism. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Newsweek and in international public...
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Semifinalist
Short
· Drama
· 12 Pages
Amidst the backdrop of the Iran-Iraq war, fifteen year old Caroline, takes a car ride with her father to the Iranian countryside of Birjand.
Ava Lalezarzadeh is an American actress and writer. She’ll make her Broadway debut in English by Sanaz Toossi (Roundabout). Series Regular debut in the upcoming limited series Before opposite Billy Crystal (AppleTV+ & Paramount). Off Broadway: World Premiere of English (Atlantic Theater Co & Roundabout; 2023 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Drama, Lucille ...
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Inertia
Private
Semifinalist
Short
· Sci-fi
· 10 Pages
This logline was hidden by the writer.
- Verified WGA Member
Forest Hills, NY
A NYC-based producer and photographer. Natalie immerses in film theory and cinema history, and intends to bring the art house back to the new generation.
After a decade of working with docs (including MSNBC, EPIX, PBS, A+E), she ventured into producing narratives. She recently produced feature film Sleepyhead, starring Lillo Brancato, Paul Maligna...
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